Dancing to the rhythm of infinite possibilities

K-Pop in the Metaverse is spun out of pixels and battles in a virtual universe

Kpop in the Metaverse: During the pandemic, many industries saw drastic technological advances, including K-pop. Numerous new ventures for K-Pop companies, notably online concerts, and virtual fan engagement events have already been organized K-Pop Labels. Recently, MAVE, a South Korean girl band, achieved viral success less than two months ago with their first music video, garnering nearly 20 million views on YouTube and paving the way for eventual international triumph.

At first glance, MAVE looks like any other idolized K-pop band—except they only exist in virtual form. Its four members – SIU, ZENA, TYRA and MARTY – live in the metaversetheir songs, dances, interviews and even hairstyles created by web designers and artificial intelligence.

K-Pop in the Metaverse: Use of virtual technology

The k pop The industry is known for its cutting-edge technology, including the metaverse. Especially during the pandemic, digital technology has helped people stay connected. This also applies to the entertainment industry as offline concerts are put on hold. metaverseWith its virtual reality aspect, it has become one of the possible answers to reconnect artists with fans – albeit via the digital world.

In terms of the Metaverse application, there are a growing number of Metaverse-related projects/groups in K-pop. One of the most famous examples is the group Aespa, which was introduced as a group with virtual counterparts (ae). In addition to the actual members, Aespa consists of 4 virtual avatars that represent the members. Since then it has become a central aspect from which the concept of Aespa was derived.

Businesses and parts of the South Korean government are considering creating metaverses; This summer, banks in South Korea invested in Metaverse asset funds, and the country’s Ministry of Science and ICT is allocating trillions of won to boost tech companies including Metaverses. Millions of South Koreans have invested in digital land grabs in metaverse. In early November, the Seoul Metropolitan Government also announced plans for their Metaverse assets.

A mainstay of K-pop’s push into the metaverse is the growth of virtual performances and artists that may seem new, but stretches back almost two decades: A cyber singer named Adam created and released the 1998 album No Love Like This. Numerous other digital performers have popped up in recent years, such as popular League of Legends girl group K/DA, voiced by various pop artists including K-pop stars, and this year’s virtual girl group Eternity.

In March 2022, Blackpink’s virtual avatars hosted a fan event on the avatar-based social media network, with a reported 46 million users attending the event to receive digital autographs from the group. The following month, SK Telecom launched its “K-pop Metaverse Project” on its augmented reality app Jump AR, which allowed fans to create their music videos based on the music and dances of girl group Weekly. The group also hosted a virtual “in-person” event in May.

In September 2021, South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT announced plans to invest a whopping $7.5 billion in digital technologies by 2025; 9% ($2.2 billion) of that will go to “metaverse-related” technologies. The country will use some of those funds to develop its own K-pop metaverse, according to a report by London-based analytics and consulting firm GlobalData.

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, the country plans to develop 220 metaverse companies by 2026, supported by 40,000 industry experts. This would make the country the fifth largest Metaverse market in the world.